DRONE SEA BORNE

Main Goals of the Project

The Drone Sea Borne project aimed to define the key components of a maritime drone platform for the recovery of launcher stages. Its main goal was to support the reusability of future European transportation systems starting the development of  a reliable naval solution for the recovery of reusable components. The project focused on feasibility studies, identification of enabling technologies, and de-risking strategies, providing a comprehensive approach to assess the technical and economic potential of the maritime recovery platform.

CIRA Activities in the Project

CIRA participated in the project by contributing to the preliminary and final definition of the Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and high-level requirements, supporting the conceptual design for the propelled landing scenario. In particular, it contributed by estimating the thermal and mechanical loads during landing for two different categories of launch vehicles, as well as by supporting the identification of enabling technologies, the overall de-risking process, and the feasibility assessment of the maritime recovery platform.

General Project Information

Funding Programme: ESA - European Space Agency

Start Date: 01/05/2024; End Date: 30/11/2025

Official Project Website: https://www.idscorporation.com/news/we-are-contributing-to-the-next-generation-of-european-launchers/

Coordinating Organization: IDS – Ingegneria dei Sistemi

Partners: CIRA, Sener Aerospacial

CIRA Contact: Francesca Maria Pisano, f.pisano@cira.it